


Payment For The Brave And The Fierce

by GeneralR0gu3P1an3t



Category: Fallout: New Vegas, Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Bounty Hunters, Bounty Hunter Lapis, Brotherhood of Steel Scribe Peridot, F/F, It's Up To The Reader's Perspective, L O T S of Caps, LOTS of violence, Lots of guns, Mercenaries, Moral Dilemmas, New Vegas Bounties Homage!, Or Maybe Revenge, Private Military Contractors, Strictly Business, The Ecstasy Of Gold
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-07-06
Updated: 2017-10-23
Packaged: 2018-11-28 09:19:00
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 4
Words: 10,512
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11414883
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GeneralR0gu3P1an3t/pseuds/GeneralR0gu3P1an3t
Summary: The omen is very real. Rose Quartz's death was the last straw for the Crystal Gems and Associates. For a very long time, the company's path for bounty hunting had been going down a dark path, with almost all of their bounty hunters getting killed out in the coast of California. However, Rose Quartz's death was by far the one that hit the hardest. All of the other bounty hunters decided that their days of bounty hunting was over... Except one. That one killer was Lapis Lazuli. Without a company to hire her, Lapis must find work with a new organization, and soon finds a slightly 'unhinged' man out in the Mojave Wasteland who is able to savor her taste for action, money, and frontier justice. Later in her travels, she teams up with a kidnapped Brotherhood of Steel Scribe turned slave from Caesar's Legion, Peridot Y. Diamond. Using the knowledge the young scribe has, the duo team up to hunt down one of the biggest bounties in the West: A mysterious legend from Hell itself, known only as: The Beige Fury.Inspired by New Vegas Bounties, a Fallout New Vegas Mod: http://www.nexusmods.com/newvegas/mods/37310/?





	1. The Fire Still Burns Within

**Author's Note:**

> To anyone who reads my other fanfics, no nothing is canceled. I'm just writing this down because this story idea formed in my mind recently and I want to go forward with the idea immediately, that's all. 
> 
> Alright, now this one will probably be on par with Eagle and Bluejay, not in it's actual powerful sense of recovery and beauty after pain, but just the ruthlessness of humanity and the amount of hostility. This will be probably one of the most bloody fanfics I write, and with good reason. This is based off the Fallout universe, and I don't need to tell anyone how fucked up anything is in that universe. But, I have 5000 hours or so on Fallout 3, and around 1000 hours on Fallout New Vegas (and I'm starting to play Fallout 2) so I will be referencing all of the lore I see fit. On top of that, the real image this takes place with is New Vegas Bounties, a quest mod series that I highly recommend for anyone who plays Fallout New Vegas on a PC. If not, look up Alchestbreach or another Fallout youtuber and watch them play it. It's a masterpiece. 
> 
> Alright, all the behind, I wanna mention a few things. Firstly, Peridot will not be around for a while. Mostly the beginning is focused around Lapis and her new job. Secondly, this is going to be a series, probably a trilogy. I will probably post the first chapter of the next series immediately as the former one is done. 
> 
> Finally, thank you for reading, and please give me feedback and any constructive criticism you have. As Someguy2000 (the creator of New Vegas Bounties) once said: "I depend on you to excoriate any failings and praise the successes."

Silence. That's all they could muster. Silence. A long period of silence for their own legend. Somewhat of a let down in most of their opinions, but they knew she wouldn't have wanted a funeral. No, this was the type of grave people like them get. A shallow grave, in a small cemetery. People you look up to, people you respect, you think they're invincible, or at least invincible to the type of hardship you go through. But in work such as theirs, they always realize that it only takes a couple of good shots in the gut to kill someone, no matter how legendary they are. They all felt sorrow, that was for sure. But more than that, the legend was broken. None of them felt invincible anymore. None of them had the will to continue. They all felt like they went down a long, long path... Only for the other path to be the right one the whole time. Fitting. Maybe a little _too_ fitting for them all to stomach.

Amethyst, Pearl, Garnet, and Lapis Lazuli froze in front of the grave of Rose and Greg Universe, their faces all with the same look of shock and depression.

In short, they had lost. They all had signed up to the wrong work. They all had bitten off more than they could chew, and now their jaws were broken. Garnet was the first to speak. She was always the most mature of the bunch.

"So... I suppose this is where we part ways." Amethyst and Pearl looked back with a face of the same sorrow. However, the one with powerful blue hair and sharp eyes, Lapis Lazuli, was the one to look back in question.

"What? What are you talking about? We've gotta go after her, fucking put her in the dirt! Eye for an eye, eh?" Lapis barked.

"Lapis, we're the only ones left! Look around! It's just me, you, Pearl and Amethyst. **Everyone else is dead.** We have no chance at revenge on this."

"Oh, come one! All of us are trained killers! We just find out where their base is, infiltrate the group, play the part as one of them, get her location, slit her throat in her sleep-"

"We don't even know what _she_ even looks like! It was her own people she had kill them! We would be outnumbered, outgunned, without anyone to back us up... Face it, Lapis. It's a lost cause."

"Ame, Pearl, back me up here! None of us are afraid of a lil' suicide mission, right?" The other two bounty hunters looked at Lapis with the same depressed face, and Lapis' eyebrows soon lowered from question to being bluntly answered. "Oh..." She said furiously. "So I'm the only one who's got balls now, huh!?"

"Neither of them would want us to throw ourselves to certain for revenge, Lapis." Pearl said, with Amethyst slowly nodding her head in agreement.

"They wouldn't want us being failures at the two things we're good at either: resolve and killing." Lapis barked back.

"Lapis, we can't win every battle. This week has taught us that. Fate has spoken. We've lost. They won. End of discussion. Crystal Gems & Associates is dead. Our allies have either broken off, or have been stomped out like we have. You may have a fire within yourself, but there are no embers in our power." Garnet spoke the words of defeat like a wise elder. Lapis hated the thought of giving in on anything at all, let alone revenge. But... She was outnumbered. She couldn't convince one, let alone all three, to go with her. She had to swallow her pride like everyone else that morning. Crystal Gems & Associates was over, and there was nothing anyone could do about it.

**Sighs** "Fine... So, where do we go now? We gotta find work somewhere."

"You three can do what you want... I'm going back home to California. There's a town in need of militia, and if I chip in, I'm sure they'll pay for my needs." Lapis now had a face of confusion, and slight interrogation, on her face once again.

"W-what?"

"Yeah" Amethyst added "I think I'm going back home, up North in Canada. My parents are probably still on that scraggly ranch of theirs. They'll welcome be back pretty easily. Pearl?"

"Caravans up in Oregon moving down to the NCR sounds pretty good. I can never stay too long in one place-"

"WAIT, WAIT, WHAT!? Y'ALL ARE DONE!? YOU'RE ALL JUST GIVING UP ON THE BUSINESS!? WE'RE A TEAM, GODDAMMIT, COMPANY OR NO COMPANY!" Lapis' shouts could be heard all through the cemetery, the snow still covering the echo from going out of the canyon. Her friends could only look back at her in a confirming matter. Lapis felt twice as hurt from their silent answer. They were just giving up on bounty hunting? Just moving on like nothing had happened? Well, that was one thing Lapis could never do. She could give up the flag she walked under, but never the lifestyle she was born into.

"Guys, I-I've never been without a crew to work with! Not since my first ever bounty! Y-you can't seriously leave me! We can find new work, travel North, start anew! C'mon!"

**Sighs** "Lapis... It's..." Garnet paused before finally lifting her hand up to shake Lapis' hand.

"It's been a pleasure working with you."

Lapis, almost automatically without thinking, shook her hand, and stood frozen like a statue as she saw Garnet walk over to shake Pearl's hand, and give Amethyst a hug, before walking out of the small canyon where the cemetery took place.

"Lapis... You take care now, y'hear?" Pearl said, nodding her hat to Lapis, who nodded her hat back, her face now pale, the snow collecting on her non-moving shoulders, the small amount of snowflakes covering her bright blue hair.

Amethyst afterwards gave Pearl a hug, as much as Pearl had always hated them, before walking over to hug Lapis.

"Hit me up in Puma Ranch in Canada, alright sister?" Lapis slowly returned the hug before shakily saying

"Y-yeah..." Amethyst then marched off like the rest, leaving Lapis alone in a quiet cemetery, barely able to grasp the situation being forced upon her.

For once in a very long time, Lapis was completely alone. And as the seconds of silence moved by, she quickly learned to hate it just as much as the first time she had it.

Lapis looked one last time at the tombstones behind her, before looking out to the snowy canyon leading to the exit. Each of the other former bounty hunters moved out in different directions, with Lapis herself going her own path as well.

It was back out to the wasteland for her. She didn't even feel the cold. It was nothing in comparison.

 

Lapis wandered through the canyons and mountains of Utah, the harsh wilderness not really bothering her, nor the silence. She liked the silence after a day or two. Gave her peace of the mind. She thought about her life, and what led up to this. She thought about her history with Caesar's Legion as a slave, and the vigilante who rescued her. She thought about all the people she had killed, all the vigilantism she had committed over the years. All the slavers she had cooked, all the bandits she had wasted. It all felt like a breeze. She never had a fear of dying. She did have a fear of ghosts, though.

Her actions never haunted her, however. She always thought they would. But nothing to that day had given her a reason to stop fighting. Sure, Crystal Gems & Associates was the best company she had ever worked for, hands down. But there was nothing bringing her to say "time to start a new life." No, she just needed an answer. A calling, almost. She needed a sign to know where to go, like a wanted poster, but for her future. She knew she could go anywhere. She just didn't know where to start.

And then she walked into a saloon. 'The Dire Yao Guai Saloon. Home of the Utah Blue Moonshine.' The sign was quite creative, the neon lights mixed in with the bright background, making the place sort of stand out.

Lapis was always a hardy character, and didn't have a problem stopping in and trying out a probably lethal taste of moonshine. Walking in, the smell of smoking meat hit her like a freight train, and it didn't take her long to realize she had been on the trail without eating for about a day at that point, most of her trail mix being gone after the first day or so. Waltzing in, she sat in one of the many empty booths, and waited until the bartender piped up.

"Hey there, stranger! Need anything?"

"Bottle of that, uh, blue moonshine, and whatever you're cooking back there."

"Oh, the Bighorner steak? Yeah, we know how to cook 'em well out here. I'll bring a piece and a bottle out right now!" The jolly man wasted no time in bringing out a large glass bottle, and a steel plate with a thick fork and steak knife along with practically a slab of meat. Lapis wasted no time in chowing down on the steak, as she heard the door open. A young man walked in, wearing a simple winter outfit and a hat.The satchel he had around him signified a package inside.

"Wow, another stranger out here! Both of you are new around here, huh? It's quite rare I see more than one unfamiliar face a day in these parts!"

"Name's Steven. Pleasure to meet you." the man had a Northern accent, not Southern or Western. He must have trekked many miles Lapis thought, her mind occupying itself as she continued eating.

"Howdy, name's Barker. I've been runnin' this here saloon for 'bout 6 years now! What brings you out here to the chilliest parts of Utah?"

"I'm a courier. Working for the-"

"Mojave Express?" Lapis interrupting herself from eating and the man's sentence at the same time.

"Uh... Yeah, how did you know?"

"They're the only company that would travel this far out for deliveries."

"Well then!" The bartender then commented "You have quite a noggin, ma'am! What's your name anyhow?"

"Lapis Lazuli. Former worker of Crystal Gems & Associates."

"Is that another courier company?" Steven asked.

"Definitely not."

"Huh... Well, I'll take a Nuka-Cola please, I have to get back on the road. Got an important package for New Vegas."

"Of course, sir! Here ya are!" The bartender handed over a bottle as the courier quickly made his way out, his reply being as he walked back out into the cold simply being

"Thank you, sir. Pleasure to meet you two."

"Huh," the bartender added as the door closed "Quite an interesting accent he had. Definitely not from around her."

Suddenly, a lit cigarette came from a dark corner in Lapis' view. It revealed a tall woman in the dark, sitting by herself in a booth in the corner, the darkness formerly shadowing her from sight from Lapis. 

"Barker, more scotch please."

"O-of course, ma'am!" Barker soon rushed over to the woman a refilled her glass, before hastily walking back over to the bar to continue cleaning. Something about him at that point was a little... Of to Lapis, as if he was afraid.

"Crystal Gems & Associates..." The woman spoke. "... That's a bounty hunting company, right?" Lapis was a little cautious before replying to the dark figure.

"... It was. Until it was knocked out of business." The shady woman puffed her cigarette, once again lighting up the dark area engulfing her.

"Is that right? ... I hear that Rose Quartz was quite the fightin' type. Never thought I would've heard about her business going down, that's for sure." Lapis simply nodded in return. Silence drifted between all three of the individuals in the saloon, one being clearly on the edge of anxiety, one being cautious and alert, and one being almost an all seeing eye in the room. "So..." The woman continued. "Why are you out here, then? Looking for work?" Lapis paused and stared towards the glowing eyes beaming back at her, before nodding her head.

Finally, the woman walked out of the shadow to reveal herself as a tall, sharp looking figure, with dark wool pants and a coat on. The belt buckle she wore was very distinctive, clearly a creative style. On the steel buckle, the design of a diamond was edged in, with beams of lightning and hailstorms forming all around it. Quite the perfect design for both the identity of power and destruction.

"Well... I've heard of a company, far from here. It's in New Vegas. The Mojave Wasteland. You mentioned it. Ever been there?" The woman questioned, before sitting down on the booth across from Lapis.

"A couple times, for long distance bounties."

"Of course... Well, this company is making quite the name for itself, and I think their job list is right up your ally. I've always been a good judge at character, after all." Lapis smirked at the woman's remark, watching as the woman took a second to pull a piece of paper out of her coat and hand it over to the blue haired vigilante, the paper still being damp from the snowy weather. The woman didn't need to ask if she could read, as she assumed whoever this person was, was at least a little more intelligent than the usual gun-for-hire.

Lapis carefully opened the wet piece of paper, and read the full page to herself.

**BLACK ROSE ORGANIZATION**

**NOW HIRING THE FOLLOWING INDIVIDUALS FOR WORK:**

**\- Bounty Hunters  - Mercenaries**

**\- Private Military Contractors (NCR or Other (NOT LEGION))**

**\- Freelance Assassins - Political Assassins (Enclave Remnants Accepted)**

**\- Vigilantes (Moral flexibility preferred)**

**\- Professional/Private Security**

**Job Overview:**

**You will be paid to hunt down and terminate (with extreme prejudice, usually) enemies of those who hire our company. We will usually be hired by the NCR to ~~clean up their dirty work~~ exterminate any major enemies they encounter. THIS IS NOT A BANDIT/RAIDER GANG OR CUTTHROAT MERC CREW! We will usually be going after morally vicious people. Don't expect to sign up to take control of an island and enslave the inhabitants and go around looting and raping. We're going after real killers, here. None of the ~~easy shit~~ lackluster missions most mercs out there have taken. That being said, we WILL DEFINITELY be going after the most difficult jobs in the West Coast. We're the organization that they hire when nobody else has the ~~balls~~ willpower to continue on. We'll be constantly at war with raiders, rogue military personal, drug lords, slavers, Caesar's Legion, several mercenary companies, and the occasional mad scientist and rich psychopath. Take it or leave it.  
**

**HOWEVER, we usually pay the biggest out of any other companies, ESPECIALLY on bounties. If you actually have the strength and the guns to form up with us, we'll make you one of the wealthiest contractors in the wastes, believe me.**

**SIGNUP PAYMENT:**

**3000 Caps**

**REQUIREMENTS:**

**\- Major experience in firearms and at least minor experience in explosives (melee, unarmed, and energy weapons are also of optional experience)**

**\- Some amount of military training preferred**

**\- Morale flexibility preferred**

**Lack of history with major conflicting enemies of the organization (Caesar's Legion, enemy mercenary companies, etc.)**

**JOB BONUSES:**

**\- Complete freedom of working hours**

**\- Barracks with an open bed and occasional refreshments (cool Nuka-Cola machine!!!)**

**\- Major immunity from NCR interference**

**LOCATED IN THE MOJAVE WASTELAND, EAST OF JACOBSTOWN, SLIGHTLY NORTH OF RED ROCK CANYON, LOOK FOR THE POND AND THE RANDOMLY LARGE AMOUNT OF GUARDS PATROLLING**

**Signed by:**

**Max Basher, CEO of BRO **™** **

The words alone were flashy enough. Many points struck out to Lapis, especially the word 'vigilante.' That wasn't a form of job, that was a type of word for someone, a word she was called quite often due to her own principles and reasons for being a bounty hunter. It did sound nice, almost like a real sign of fate. It also helped that she had nowhere else to go, anyhow.

"So, what are you, a client yourself?" The woman across from Lapis laughed at the question.

"Oh, far from it. No, I was just trying to set you on what might be the right path for you... So, what do you think?"

"If I'm honest? ... I think this is the best answer I've got." Lapis moved up out of the booth and nodded to the woman, who immediately nodded back with a grin.

"Barker?" The hesitant bartender looked up from where he had glued his eyes onto a glass he was cleaning to receive a nod from Lapis, quickly nodding back. Lapis soon marched back into the winter wonderland of Utah, and set West for the Mojave Wasteland.

 

_Funny,_ Lapis thought to herself. _I never even got her name._

 

 

 

 

 

 


	2. There Will Be Blood

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lapis meets her new boss, Max Basher, and gets her first bounty.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it's been a while, I'm just finishing off my advanced classes. Once they're over, I'll have more time to update more frequently.

The Mojave. Not much had changed. Well, besides it now being one of the many frontiers between Caesar's Legion and the New California Republic. But nevertheless, casinos were still in business, chems and alcohol were still in the plethora, and hookers were up for the taking. Yep. Typical Vice City. Nothing else like it. It was the corrupt city that places like New Reno tried to copy, but they were never the same as the real thing. It was the jewel of the West Coast. A symbol of defiance to the bombs themselves, since it both survived the bombs perfectly, and also showed that no matter how much time went by, people would never change, and that they will always be at each other's throats. How... Classy.

As Lapis walked through the basically death-ridden landscape of heat and dust of the Mojave Wasteland, by the time all the hills and dunes had been out of the way, she could clearly see the empowering Stripe in the distance, the Lucky 38 towering over the rest of the city; although, while Lapis could clearly see it, unlike most visitors of the wastes, it was not her first objective to be focused on, nor her main intention of being there.

No, she was a person of hastiness when it came to business, and while she could joke and snort at all the world's accusations or insults, if there was one thing she was indeed insecure about, it was her performance in the business of being a bounty hunter.

Walking farther through the wasteland, she eventually made her way to the more chilly parts of the heatstroke-enticing landscape. Trailing up a road to the mountains, she soon felt the weather shift from 'dying of heat' weather to 'put on a damn coat' weather fairly quickly. Shrugging it off, Lapis trekked on until she saw, a little farther in a particular mountain, a small pond.

Walking a little closer, she noticed a sign that had formerly been a 'Forest Fire Hazard' sign. Instead, nailed over the sign, was a logo of what seemed to be a wolf walking forward, with what seemed to be nuclear missiles launching next to the road, flying off into the air, the whole thing in black and white. Seemed to be the logo of whatever group Lapis was getting herself into. The following words read on the sign:

**THE** **BLACK ROSE ORGANIZATION: FORT ATTILA -Now Hiring!!**

Huh. Talk about not about being subtle. Most organizations who hired bounty hunters were safe being public, being part of the law. But... This place hired tons of mercs and assassins. Whoever was in charge here clearly didn't care about anonymous meetings or private bases out of prying eyes. 

Walking closer to the site, Lapis could make out what seemed to be an entire company worth of soldiers on the premises. Most of them were totting black combat armor and big guns, most commonly the classic minigun. Whoever these people were, they either attracted the top people from the wasteland when it came to armament, or they clearly were well-funded for armor and guns the _security_ was wearing. People who were packing this much protection were usually veteran mercenaries, or bounty hunters that didn't prefer the 'quiet' type of taking care of business and preferred just risky shootouts, but _never just security_ (well, unless they were the Van Graffs, who were literally more anxious and paranoid than a rowdy teenage punk.)

Besides getting a very blunt impersonation of what the people running the show around there were like, Lapis was also taking in the actual front of the facility. It seemed to be an actual bunker tucked away into a mountain, and on top of the mountain, there seemed to be some kind of huge hatch, the kind of hatches the Enclave usually would have for their vertibirds.

Most of the guards had sunglasses, bandanas, eye patches, or whatever else there was to make them look 'tough,' however Lapis had no issue simply walking up to the many guards for questioning, not looking phased whatsoever in doing so.

"So, this is Black Rose? I'm looking for the guy who'll pay my bills."

"Oh yeah, a bounty hunter, right? I can tell by the light armor... Heh, don't worry, we're not hard shit-kickers like most mercs. Go up to the door, it's automatic in the afternoon." Well, that was a surprise. Lapis had rarely worked with mercs, but when she did, they always seemed to be a bunch of narcissistic morally backwards type of people. However, he actually helped her. Hell, he was on the edge being called _nice_ by Lapis, a rare thing for her to admit.

Still, other matters were at hand. Lapis walked over to the large, old but still somehow futuristic circular door, to see it open hastily in front of her. Blinking a little, Lapis slowly inched her way inside. In the room that greeted her was a metallic atmosphere, with wires and metal circuitry all across the ceiling and floor, the entire place seemingly out of metal. Lapis soon walked down a dark stairway that lead to a much larger room. Inside the seemingly gigantic room was a large armory, with weapons and armor all hanged up or contained in an organized fashion, people that seemed to be engineers and fellow gun enthusiasts all across the area, with one large thing in particular...

A vertibird. A large vertibird was in the middle, with a very clear E with stars surrounding it on the side of the vehicle. Clearly this was once a place for the Enclave. It wasn't an actual base by any means, but must have been a supply depot at some point. There seemed to be several doors that lead to new areas of the facility, and Lapis, almost lost, sort of took a moment to step back and observe where to go. Suddenly, a man in a RobCo. jumpsuit walked up to her, noticing her confusion.

"New here!?" The man said a little loudly over all the chatter and machinery. Lapis nodded silently. "Looking for work, are you!?" Another nod. "The boss' office is down that hallway, just follow it, and he'll be working at the desk at the end!" The man pointed his clearly grimy finger towards the most Northern hallway, and Lapis gave a small smile and a nod as she walked out of the loud setting.

Further down the hallway, the noise dimmed until she actually hear herself think a little. Slightly colorful lights started illuminating the area after she had made some progress down the long hallway. Green, red, and blue seemed to form instead of the common amber lighting that she had assumed was the only form of light through the entire place. Finally, reaching the end, a smaller door that was clearly for just people greeted her, though it still had the same metallic look that the first door did.

The door automatically opened, and inside was a tall man slouched in a comfortable chair, typing away on the terminal that was placed upon his desk. He seemed to barely notice Lapis when she entered, but as soon as she inched a little closer, Lapis could tell he was wearing... Some kind of mask. It was a black mask that clearly represented a face, but only covered half of his face. It seemed to be some kind of shiny, coated steel, and judging by the skin around him, he seemed to be fairly healthy, so it was wasn't there for some medical reason. It was very... Strange, at least to Lapis.

The man clearly looked like a Bond villain, and even seemed to have the boogie man look that the Enclave themselves had. He wore a clearly weathered Enclave officer cap, and seemed to have some kind of modified riot gear on, the kind the NCR had, just... Tweaked a little. The man was soon caught off guard by the woman in front of her, and her having dark blue hair herself and light apparel, he immediately assumed either...

_Okay, 1. She's a bounty hunter._

_2... Oh, shit. It's that date of the year, isn't it?_

"Okay, look, if you're here about that Goddamn child support, y-you can tell him I'm- I'm fucking cashed out, alright!? I-I literally am through with thi- He wanted the damn kid, not me! He pushed and pushed and pushed, and then when we adopt him, and I actually started to like him, that motherfu- Y'know, courier, you can just tell him to fuck off! I-I... You're... You're not a courier... Are you?" 

"Uh... No... No, I'm just here about the job offer." The man ripped the mask off of his face and massaged his eyes. His face revealed a metallic form underneath. Lapis had to put effort into not looking startled. Thankfully, the man soon slammed the humanoid (yet alien looking) mask back onto the right side of his face, or Lapis' left.

"Uh... Sorry about the, uh, weird accusations, thought you were, uh... Anyway, you're here for work, huh?"

"Yep, if you're still hiring."

"Well I am. I take it you're a bounty hunter of sorts, correct?" Lapis gave a thumbs up as she sat down in the chair across from the man.

"Well, I'm Max Basher, it's a real pleasure to meet you, Ms..?"

"Ms. Lazuli, call me Lapis."

"Well, alright Lapis," Max opened up a filing cabinet under his desk, where next to an organized containment of files was a single bottle of whiskey. Max pulled out the bottle with two small glasses as well as a small file. Opening up the file, Max handed over a couple of papers to sign, as well as a pen. Lapis hastily signed the contract papers, not really worrying about what they read. This was bounty hunting. She already knew the danger she was going to have to face. Didn't need a piece of paper to remind her.

"I take it by how fast you're going through those papers that you're an experienced individual?"

"Yeah, I've been a bounty hunter most of my life."

"Oh, fantastic, another veteran! We seem to be getting a lot of attention. I knew heavy commercialism was key to this business."

"Yeah, funny thing though is that this was all by luck. I just happened to get called out by some stranger who thought this would've been a good idea for me, seeming as how I just lost my former job." Max seemed to get a suspicious look.

"You say you're a professional... Yet you just got fired?" Lapis seemed to look up from the papers with a look of confusion, before understanding the miscommunication and explaining herself.

"Oh, no no no, we... Well, we were just taken out of business. Our company, Crystal Gems & Associates, just got shutdown because of our attacks. I headed here once I knew work would've been good for me." Max looked down in confusion, muttering a couple words to himself.

 _"Crystal Gems & Associates... _Wait, Rose's company? You worked for Rose Quartz!?"

"Worked for her? Hell, me and only three others practically ran the crew for her. I was one of the BC Rebels." If Max had coffee, he would have spit it out at this point.

"YOU WERE A BEACH CITY REBEL!? ... Well shit, we either got a Private Joker in our midst, or one of the deadliest bounty hunters in this side of the coast! But what happened!? I heard she was basically competition with every other bounty hunter guild out there, but I didn't think-"

"Oh no, we weren't tracked by competition... Some... Well, 'group' is kind of a small name for them, but they were anonymous, to say the least. We must have either killed someone the head honchos of their 'group' liked, or had put a bounty on the wrong guy, but the point is... We were hunted down. They killed Rose Quartz, her husband, Greg, and pretty much an entire small army of our staff... Us BC rebels, we only survived because by the time they came after us, we had already heard enough of the news to prepare, and together were just about as dangerous as Rose Quartz was... After we buried the two, we just... Parted ways. They all wanted to move on, start over, all that. Not me. I love my job, and I'm willing to work with fresh faces."

Max could feel his stomach churn over Rose and Greg's death. He had known so much about the two, and hell, he remembered working well with grunts like Greg and Bismuth back in _the good old days..._

 _"First Navarro..."_ He mumbled to himself quietly. _"Then Bismuth. Then Ed. Then Guts. Then Raven Rock... Now, Rose and Greg."_ Max then let out a bit of laughter, almost trying to fight the pain inside.

"Alright, looks like something besides marriage caught up to me! ... This is what I get for having too many friends... Anyway, let's get you geared up, vigilante!"

Lapis nodded in agreement, handing back the now signed papers.

"Alright. I've only got one question for you. Are you willing to kill people for money? Yes or no?"

"Absolutely."

"Then that just about settles it! With the papers all signed, you're now a privately contracted, government-funded, morally blue vigilante bounty hunter of the Black Rose Organization! Seeming as how you're used to working for companies who have roses in them for some coincidental reason, I'm sure you'll fit in just fine!" Max handed over a glass of strong whiskey, and the two toasted to each other.

"To blood money!" Max said.

"To frontier justice!" Lapis responded.

After the two shook off the bitter strength of the beverage, Max allowed Lapis to check into the barracks for the day. Down another hallway, Lapis found an area filled with bunk beds and regular smaller beds up next to the walls, in the middle seeming to be a poker table with a few people already in a game. Bottles of alcohol, ammo caches, and the occasional 'magazine' were scattered around the lived-in setting, with one loud radio playing that specific radio station _without_ the annoying radio manager that was louder than the actual music being played.

Lapis spent an hour or two playing poker with some of the other mercs, most of them being as pleasant as the former guard. It was beyond strange for Lapis to meet mercs like this who _didn't_ have an ace up their sleeve while playing, and _weren't_ trying to hit on her. It was a very welcoming change for Lapis, who basically had to kick the teeth in any new 'hotshot' who would just get out of their mom's basement when signing onto Crystal Gems & Associates. Hell, there wasn't even a lot of NCR kiss-assing around; something rare for a company probably hired by the NCR most of the time.

After a long night of a competitive game of gambling, Lapis picked a random bunk, and slept the night off, her rifle by her side. She felt naked without having that rifle by her, and she wasn't going to put a pistol underneath her pillow. More importantly, she didn't _ever_ feel safe, no matter where she slept. It was either the rifle... Or someone next to her. And _that_ wasn't happening anytime soon.

 

~~Or, so she thought.~~

 

Lapis walked through the hallway again to Max's office, and was expected by now some work for herself. 

"Alright, ready to start business?"

"Always am."

"Ok then. First one is named Billard Vinyl. Yeah, classy name, I know. We get a lot of his type. Anyway, this guy was at some point a sheriff of a town by the name of Copper Villa, a town close to the very Western border of California. At one point, when the NCR got their grubby hands on the information of the land, they realized the land in that place was practically bleeding oil. The NCR being the NCR, decided to try to muscle out anybody living there out of their land for lowly prices. Eventually, this honorable sheriff thought it would be hilarious if he blew the head off of one of the pesky vulture businessman sent by the NCR with his 12 gauge. He then fled to the Mojave Wasteland, trying to live under cover until he can sneak past the legion territory and make a break for it across the Colorado river, and deep into the East Coast. The NCR put a bounty on his head for 700 caps. I know that's probably not much for a killer like you, but you've gotta start small before I give you the regular cut-throat jobs like all the other pros. Make sense?"

"Well, that's only fair." Lapis shrugged. She didn't need the caps, really. It was that red mist she was after at that point.

"Sounds like a plan. He was last seen nearby the El Dorado Gas & Service, South-West of Boulder City. Now remember, this guy may be old, but he's still a good shot. He was a sheriff at some point, after all. However, judging by the hair, I'm sure you're mission in life is to cause trouble, so I think you'll be fine." Max said, smirking.

"Hey, this blue hair here is the last thing snipers see before I break their scope- and their skull with this here headhunter." Lapis boasted, totting her rifle.

"Oh yeah, is that a brush gun? Those things pack a punch. I see the handy-work you've done to it, even the little blue bandana wrapped around the butt of the rifle, nice touch. You clearly take care of your weapons."

"Yeah, well this thing has been with me to Hell and back... I figure I owe it to be in it's best condition."

"Oh, I'm sure... Good hunting, Lapis."

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Guts. Man, what a cool nickname, amirite?  
> Anyway, that mask is a black Phantom of the Opera mask. I love that damn mask.  
> Comments make my fingers type more, and feedback makes my eyes sharper. They're both vital, and they're both appreciated.


	3. The Rogue Sheriff

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lapis takes care of her first contract. Former sheriff Billard Vinyl.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's once again been awhile! And this fucking time I wasn't even prepared for it! I didn't think I was, but I was basically tricked into doing Cadre Training, or CCS/OCS. It's where you spend two weeks or so doing the same work that is in the actual US Army's basic training. We did PT until 3 in the morning, road marches with bricks in our backpack with a heavy as fuck M16 and march for 8 hours in the day from 2 to 10. It was Hell, but the entire time, I didn't exactly have time to update. The good news is I'm gonna be getting ranks in a week or so! We're the only academy in the actual country that you have to work at to get rank, pretty much every other school just gives out officer ranks like fucking Halloween candy. The bad news is I haven't written anything in TWO WEEKS! FUCK! 
> 
> Well, I'm back. I can't say I'll be free all the time, but I'm back right now. 
> 
> You're probably back to school. I'm back to the military.

Well, there it was. The El Dorado Gas & Service.

To the West was the infamous Helios One, a staple reminder that the NCR were as greedy for progress as the Brotherhood of Steel were greedy for technology. Other than that, there were cazadores, the occasional merchant, etc. Close to the South was Novac, though Lapis went from the fort that the mercs were placed at, so she missed it the first time passing through here. When the job was done, she'd probably spend the night in a rented room.

Lapis wasn't certain of the sheriff's actual whereabouts around the former gas station, but one thing showed a sign of life. While an old campfire seemed to be dead, not a single ember in sight, one specific thing stood out: cigarettes. Cigarettes seemed to have surrounded a specific spot next to the fire pit, and they were a distinctive brand as well. Lapis observed one of the old cigarettes to realize that, by the crisp smell, they couldn't have been a couple hours or so old. Most cigarettes in the middle of the desert usually loose their actual sent after being out in the heat for too long, same in the snow up in Utah and other states. Makes sense for a classic rogue sheriff on the run to be stress-smoking next to a fire.

Something else brass and shiny starting standing out next to the fire place as well. A casing of a .45-70 Gov't was left out in the dirt, with two more following from it, leading in a direction Northeast of the gas station. Lapis didn't waste any time in slowly making her way, following the casings all the while.

Soon more and more seemed to clump up together, as faded boot tracks seemed to become more and more apparent as the bluenette made her way up a slightly steep hill.  Making her way up, she made it to the top of the hill only to discover on the other side of the hill was a man...

Bleeding to death.

He must've been some form of mercenary or bounty hunter, judging by the outfit. He held desperately in his right hand an unloaded revolver, bullet casings surrounding him. He was clearly gut-shot, and was going to die a common, painful death. Another gun for hire, going in way over his head for the reward, about to die with his hand on his open stomach in the middle of the wasteland. Then that old beg came to Lapis' ears, one she had heard a hundred times before, and a beg she would here a hundred times again.

"W-... W-water... W-... Water... Water..."

Water.

When a man is shot right in the chest, and they're lying on the floor, dying, wasting their last breath, the one thing on their mind, usually fully knowing that they were going to die, was that they were thirsty. Being shot to the point of near death always made a person, no matter who they were, thirstier than they had ever been in their entire life. So a question they ask is usually simpler than 'Tell my spouse I love them,' or 'Avenge me.' No, usually it was just 'Please, give me water.'

"I... Yeah, I got some water." Lapis quickly whipped out a canteen, and placed it up to the laying man. The man gulped down the entirety of the canteen, still being thirsty afterwards. "I'm... I'm sorry." Lapis said quietly, the wind becoming louder than her voice. The man didn't respond. Lapis took a moment to decide whether to end the man's misery, only to hear a bullet whiz past her forehead. Lapis ducked back to the other side of the hill, immediately hearing another shot land on the dirt behind her. Someone was eyeing her, and she had a smart enough mind to assume who it was. Mr. Vinyl must've learned not to take chances on random strangers dressed to kill out in the wasteland near his camp, she thought to herself. Well, Lapis wasn't exactly keen on killing a sheriff, but a murderer with a low reasoning behind the murder is still a murderer. He was gonna have to be put down.

Lapis took the butt of her rifle and stuck her hat on the it, slowly pushing it out to the open side of the hill. As soon as it was slightly out of the open, a bullet came and shot the hat right off. However, the hat was the thing that took the real bullet, the rifle's butt not being hit, therefor no actual backlash to Lapis' arms. So, taking the risk that the rifle was lever action, Lapis swiftly bolted to a kneeling position on top of the hill, and quickly took the noise from the where the firing near the other hill was coming from to spot the attacker. Sure enough, the man was in the distance, and before he could even cock the rifle back, Lapis was able to nab a lucky shot on his shoulder. The man flailed back, falling down the back of the hill, though no anguish or scream came from him. He must've been used to being shot at, and he clearly earned his fair share of gunshots to be a sheriff. Lapis didn't doddle, she made the offensive and bolted down the hill, and up the opposite hill where the sheriff was. Sprinting up, she heard the sounds of raspy groans. Lapis stepped up to the top to find the man with the faded sheriff's badge himself, Billard Vinyl. He still wore his old uniform-like sheriff's outfit, hat, badge, duster and all. He had a rough face and bushy mustache, the classic old but gold type of look. He looked up at Lapis, chuckling a little, before saying in a raspy voice, holding the wound in his shoulder.

"Hehehe... Alright, youngster. You got me... I always thought I was **Coughs**... A dead man. Still, thought I could make it back to my ma's house before gettin' smoked out. Well, congrats. You caught a wanted sheriff. I'd tell you the whole picture you're not gettin' but I figure that ain't part of the job description. Just..." He said more depressingly. "Just kill me quickly, please."

"Well... Let's talk." Lapis said, sitting down on one knee. The sheriff seemed surprised more than anything. Was she about to give him a lesson in the law before blowing his brains out? "Why should I kill you?" She asked, standing over the wounded man, quickly grabbing his rifle and pistol in his holster and tossing them aside.

"Well, that's the job, ain't it? Kill me, cut my finger off, sell it to your boss? Ain't that what you bounty hunters do, huh?"

"Well... I'm sure you know the NCR is after you, right?"

"I'd... I'd assume so."

"Well, NCR loves their politics. If I bring you back alive for trial, they're forced to pay me extra. So now, it's your job to convince me not to seek revenge. I'm more vigilante than you think, if the blue colors on me didn't already show that. So tell me, Mr. Vinyl, why did you blow the head off of an NCR official?"

"... The truth?"

"If you can manage it." The sheriff laid his head back, looking away from the sun beaming down on him.

"He came to my home... And they'd sent couriers a couple times asking for it, but this was the first time they sent someone... They brought two soldiers with 'em. He walked up to my property, banging on my door. They wasting no time in giving me the details. It was their money, or bust. I told them to march off, that their threats wouldn't scare me. The soldiers started seeming more like thugs. Finally, he just stated that I had two days to pack up, and then they were coming and taking every out. He joked about putting a derrick right where my house was. I got a lil'... Heated. I'd been on that land since my pappy died, and I'd been the sheriff for decades by then. I wasn't ready to be muscled out like some old useless man... I pointed that there rifle, and put a bullet right in the back of his head. Fella slammed to the ground, I had darted back into the home by the time the soldiers even turned their head to look at the body behind 'em. I thought they were gonna storm the house, but they didn't. They went to get more guys, and they were gonna burn the house down, me inside. With rage in me, I ran, was gonna find my old ma's house, far East. That didn't exactly... Go as planned. So there you are. My real story. Believe or don't, I could care less right about now with a bullet in my damn arm."

Well, he was a murderer, and killing wasn't exactly something you should get off easy about, but the NCR were the first to push the buttons. It explained the reason, but it didn't excuse the action. Lapis believed him to turned in alive, seeming as how he wasn't putting up much of a fight, and the pay was technically better.

"Well it seems my mind has made up... If ya wanna live, you're coming with me."

"What about the damn bullet in my-" A stimpack was lodged into the man's arm, making him feel almost instantly better. "Oh... Thanks."

"Don't mention it, but don't think we're friends. I'm turnin' you in."

"How do you know I won't run off, lil' lady?"

"One, don't call me 'lil' lady.' Two, I was able to hit you when you were just cocking back your rifle. You sure you wanna test me?"

"... Heh. Fair enough." The sheriff walked forward, back to the road, rifle aimed at his back from a couple feet away. It was a long walk back.

 

Lapis cuffed the sheriff next to an old, metal heater. He didn't complain, and simply laid down, still thankful for not being killed as quickly as he assumed he would. Lapis tried to sleep, at least until six in the morning. The two passed out rather fast, though Lapis had a common rough night.

Lapis was by now used to nightmares, usually of her past captivity. She always liked to assume that she was just too blue for the fucking red. Caesar's Legion. The actual bane of her existence. She awoke in the usual amount of sweat and panicked heart rate. Out here though, she'd learned to keep her cool. She wasn't past much of what had happened to her, but for own sake, she pressed on. They got back on the road soon after Lapis shrugged off her terrorized mind.

 

Lapis walked into Fort Attila, the sheriff now having bindings on his hands. Max watched the defeated sheriff and triumphant blue haired vigilante walk into his office, stretching his arms out since he'd been sitting there for about an hour or so simply typing.

"Got the guy, huh?"

"Yep! Alive, too."

"Howdy." The sheriff said plainly.

"Howdy... Well Lapis, I'm impressed! I didn't even mention the dead or alive factor with the NCR, but it looks like you've done your homework! Well, here's your 700 caps and a 200 bonus for bringing him in alive." The mercenary boss threw over two bags, one filled with 700 caps, the smaller one filled with 200, as promised. Lapis quickly threw them into the pocket of her large rucksack.

"Everyday is my payday in this line of work."

"Well, if you're still interested then, I've got plenty of more work for you whenever you're ready to rock. Just come to me whenever you can, and I'll give you another contract. Now, uh, you. Follow me. We'll keep you in a contained room- No, it's not some creepy cell. Just don't try to run off."

"Aren't you gonna treat me like some low down criminal, merc?"

"What, me? Look buddy, the NCR aren't exactly my best allies, I just take their paperwork, and get paid to do it too..." The two went down the right hallway as Lapis walked herself out, 900 fresh bottle caps in her possession.

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm extremely sorry for both being very late, and for a short chapter. Again, truth be told, I am absolutely burnt out with work, stress, Cadre, AP classes, and everything else that comes with being here. I was supposed to be a day student... And I was pretty much lied to. I don't even have the energy to complain about it, I just don't matter enough. Well whatever, I'll just go out after college and die for something bigger than me. I don't have a reason to live, but I've worked too hard to give up now, so... Fuck it. 
> 
> Comments make my fingers type more, and feedback makes my eyes sharper. They're both vital, and they're both appreciated.


	4. What Kind of a Martyr is Meant to Simply Scout a Deathwish?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lapis teams up with the first member of a possibly future bounty hunting posse.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Might be a lot of typos since I wanted to finish this tonight, and didn't have a lot of time to look over any major mistakes. I'll be trying to edit and revise the whole thing soon. Hope you enjoy!

“Alright, for future reference, bounties from a terminated assailant are paid from fingers. We’ve always got the old chemistry set if we think you’re faking, but I’m assuming you know the drill.”

“Pretty much, yeah.” Lapis said, leaning back into the chair as Max pulled out a brand new contract from a filing cabinet.

“Now this guy, he might be a two-killer effort, here. Name is Rotoro Vaaz, a ghoul that knows his way with a 12 gauge like a shotgun surgeon. He is currently harassing incoming traders on the trade routes to and from Novac, and seems to have a new gang forming. The price for him, dead or alive, is currently 750 caps. However, the settlement clearly seem to want him dead for crimes. Not only that, but instead of just sniping him out from a perch somewhere out there when he’s alone taking a piss, if you wipe out his small gang with him too, there’ll be a bonus of 350 caps with the 750. Think you’re up for it?”

“Sounds decent enough, though you think I’ll be outnumbered?”

“Well, most of the guys there are probably goons, maybe some powder ganger rejects that wanted a new posse to run with, but this ghoul is a veteran in the caravanning raiding business, apparently. He’ll probably be a natural leader to them, which does give them the upper hand in a solo match versus you. My advice is to bring a merc with you, and split the money.” Lapis was fine working with other mercs, that’s what she was used to. The difference with these mercs though is they were _steep._ Lapis just got there, she wasn’t starting out small. These guys? May have been just as experienced as her, but they would probably need more than half just to make the trip alone.

“Economically, I’m sticking to myself. Some keen strategy is all I need. Well, that and the rifle.”

“Sounds like a plan. Good hunting, Lazuli.”

 

It wasn’t exactly exhilarating to be crossing the Mojave in the early hours of the day. It wasn’t like in Utah, where it’d turn hot in the day and cold in the night. Nope, in the Mojave Wasteland, it was just heat, heat, heat. Closing your eyes made a crimson red through your eyelids, and the constant necessity for hydration would become a crutch at the very least after a couple of hours.

This was all in Lapis’ mind, so that way she could try to contemplate why anyone right now would be here, in the middle of a long road, sitting down, their back leaning up to a ‘One Way’ sign.

Lapis approached cautiously, thinking that it could be a bandit rouse. She’d been tricked more than once by a raider gang that tried that old ‘I’m a dead man’ routine. Lapis slowly crept up to the man, her hand on a concealed pistol. She didn’t like sidearms in comparison two a two-handed gun, but taking out her rifle would blow any kind of possible surprise, leaving her more vulnerable.

The man didn’t make any sudden moves when she came closer, only staring straight ahead into the desert. Lapis could make out that his face was clearly of a melancholy state, his face being completely blank, with a hint of sorrow and woe. He looked, in a short sense, lost in his own, most likely depressed, state of mind.

When Lapis finally came into blank vision of the man, standing over him, he still didn’t say anything. Lapis made the choice to speak first.

“You uh… You doin’ alright there?” Silence lasted for a handful of seconds, before the man quickly darted his eyes up to the blue haired bounty hunter, before having them returning to looking straight forward, keeping the same solemn look the entire time. He paused in reconciliation for a moment, pondering about a distant memory from long, long ago. A memory this woman happened to bring back to him. It didn’t phase him much, though. Finally, he responded.

“… Either kill me or leave me be, stranger. No difference will come of it. I’ve failed today, and I therefore shall die today.” This hadn’t been the first time Lapis had heard something similar, and in a dark sense of humor, she couldn’t help but find it kind of comical how often this had happen. Hell, she did it once.

“Alright, bud… What happened?”

“Look.” He said, slowly pulling up his right arm to point a finger out into the distant desert. Lapis looked, and could see something far in the out in the setting. She pulled out her pair of binoculars, and in the distance, she saw bodies scattered about in the location, along with a dead brahmin that looked as if the merchandise wrapped around it had been sacked.

“Caravan raid?”

“Something like that. The person I was protecting got killed. I’m the only survivor. Without anyone else to follow that is of importance, my only way out now is my own death.”

“Oh yeah? Then why don’t you just shoot yourself? Probably a lot quicker than this.”

“… Don’t know. Maybe it’s self punishment for failing. Or maybe I’m expecting someone else I deem important enough to protect to come along. All I know is that this is _also_ a way of dying.” He clearly spoke with a sense of austereness, and Lapis, while doubtful, still didn’t take his words as a joke.

“Listen buddy,” she said as she knelt down to look at him more directly, “this isn’t gonna solve anything. If you’ve got someone that needs to die, we should go make ‘em die. If you’ve got somebody you need to see, we’ll go see ‘em. Anything I can do to help, would be my pleasure to keep you from dying out here all alone in this damn Mojave Wasteland.”

The young man stared blankly back at the bounty hunter, and then noticed something…

A rifle. A brush gun, but slightly different. It had a blue bandana wrapped around the butt of the rifle, with an insignia of something bright yellow. He squinted his eyes at the bandana, focus leaving the face of the bounty hunter and moving to her gun. He was able to make it out in the contrasting colors: a yellow star, with a red outline around it. It was the Crystal Gems & Associates insignia.

And suddenly he knew.

“You’re _… You’re Lapis Lazuli!?”_ He asked as he turned his eyes and full attention to Lapis.

“Uh… Yeah, how’d you know that?”

“The bandana…”

“Ah… Well, yep. Lapis Lazuli, former bounty hunter of the Crystal Gems & Associates.”

“HAHAHA!” He jumped up, with a surprisingly large amount of animation after what seemed to be literally dead from his own depression just a moment ago. “THIS IS PERFECT! JUST PERFECT!” He yelled, dusting himself off of the dirt that had accumulated on him over time from sitting down in the middle of the desert.

“What, I understand. What’s such a big deal?” Lapis asked, understandably confused.

“Oh! You probably don’t know this, but you saved my life! Remember a raid you did back on a Caesar’s Legion encampment!? Those recoat bastards had captured me, and were planning to send me over the Colorado River to have me enslaved! Until you came along after a bounty on one of the officers there! I don’t forget a blue haired woman like yourself, but the bandana makes it official! You’re with Crystal Gems!”

“Well yeah, I uh… I used to.”

“Wait, what happened? Did you leave the company?” He asked, calming down from his former jumping.

“No, we just… Had to split up. Our former leader was assassinated, and the rest of the team went their own separate ways. I wanted to go after the son’s of bitches who did it, but I was alone on the decision, so I left. I’m with a new organization now, with more mercenaries than bounty hunters. The Black Rose Organization.”

“Well, I don’t care what flag you’re under!” He said, shrugging with a smile. “I’m on your side!”

“Oh really? So you’re just totally fine wandering the wastes on bounty jobs with me just because I saved your life some time back?”

“YEP!” He said enthusiastically.

“Well, alright… I guess you could come along, and I could split the pay-“

“Nope, nope, nope! Not required, I’ll simply need caps just enough for food and ammo and the rest of the basics! You can keep the majority, it’s not a big deal to me.” He took off his black backpack and pulled out an assault rifle. On the rifle, one word was painted in black across the body **: UTILITARIAN.**

“This is my rifle, and my gun. It’s made for fighting, and it’s made for fun.”

“Hehe, here’d you learn that phrase?” Lapis snorted. The young man shrugged before replying

“An old holotape… So anyway, I can help you in combat out here! I specialize in scouting tactics from the vault I was in- long story,- and while I’ve never actually jumped _out_ of a plane, I still am able to quickly mobilize and attack the enemy. I’m based around scouting, and am able to move with large agility, and work best with automatic weapons. I’m also good with land navigation and geography, especially in the Mojave Wasteland. Other than that, I can be pretty low maintenance, and will try to stay out of your way. Sound good?”

“Uh, sure… What’s your name?”

“Well officially, it’s 0013, but I went with Martyr. Mat Martyr.”

“Mat Martyr? Why?”

“Well, I don’t know. I’m just kinda… Made to die, so I thought it’d be fitting to put a first name in that started with M.”

“That’s uh… That’s pretty bleak.”

“Yeah, I get that a lot. So, where we heading?”

 

Lapis and Martyr crept their way in the low-crawl position, sneaking their way up to a vantage point on a cliff, overseeing the area. A small encampment could be seen, with at least ten to eleven individuals guarding the area. Most of the place was held up by rusted steel, with bedrolls and sleeping bags around campfires. Large boxes filled with assorted supplies of food, water, and certain utensils could be seen, which was where they clearly put all the loot from their caravanning raids. The leader was in plain sight, Rotoro Vaaz, who was currently smoking a cigarette, sitting in a wooden chair where a desk was that had a radio on it, which he was currently listening to. Everybody seemed practically unguarded, with very few people having any guns on hand, except for a pistol still holstered. They were completely unexpecting anyone out there with them. It seemed Lapis was in the perfect spot, at the perfect time.

“I can land a clean shot to Rotoro. These new guys are rookies, so without a leader, they’ll start spraying in praying without any strategy. However, once we kill him, we basically either have to lure them all away to claim his finger, or kill them all for the bonus, which is probably easier said then done.”

“Well, I could just go down there myself and distract them at first!” Martyr responded, his own more dangerous idea coming into play. “I can just risk going guns blazing, and you can shoot the Rotoro guy in the fray! I might be able to get them all while their under pressure.” Lapis looked at him like he needed to be in an institution of some kind from before the war.

“That’s… Insane. You’ll get killed for sure.”

“Who cares? I don’t!”

“Well, _I do._ I don’t need you throwing your life away just for some small bounty. Your life ain’t worth a stack of caps.”

“You’re right, it’s technically less than that.” Lapis sighed angrily before hatching her own plan.

“Look, I gotta better plan that doesn’t involve getting you killed. Now, listen here…”

 

“SHIT, THE BOSS’S DEAD!” A straight, clean shot, and his head was gone. It took at least fifteen seconds for everyone to realize. Nobody saw where the bullet came from, and the gunshot was the only thing to go on, with nobody being experienced enough to know how to track it.

Panic soon ensued, with every gang member soon throwing out their guns into their hands and pointing in all directions. Suddenly, gunfire could be heard from the right side of the encampment, where you had to go through a small crevice through the hills to go in and out of it. Martyr started spraying in all directions of the area, bullets soon ricocheting off the steel forts and blasting in all corners of the encampment.

“COME AND GET SOME, MOTHER FUCKERS, C’MON!” Martyr screamed, emptying a large magazine from the assault rifle, only to quickly slam another magazine in and continue the onslaught of chronic bullet storming. Most were too afraid to move, only for the gang members to get soon shot down from a stray bullet. Eventually, some started having the balls to go after Martyr, only to get gunned down in immediate firing range.

Then the shooting from the sniper came back, this time from a different area, where Martyr was. It was obvious now to the gang members that this was a two-man job, and that they had to kill both to stop the attack. When Martyr reloaded again for by now the fifth magazine, Those still alive charged after him. Quick on his feet, and said a quick ‘uh oh’ to himself, before bolting back out to the other side of the crevice.

By now, eight members were dead, with only three to four still alive. Three followed in a group to gang up and outnumber the two, but ended up slowing each other down in the crevice. When they were finally able to catch up, Lapis and Martyr were staring them down, and they instantly heard beeping…

Boom! One well placed land mine, and the three went all over the place. Blood and guts spewed out over the dunes of the Mojave Wasteland in front of the two killers, leaving only one gang member left…

A young, pale and skinny gang member came out of the crevice, gasping for breath.

“Hey guys! **Gasping** Ugh, wait for m- … Shit.”

“Hold old are you, kid? Don’t lie to me, now.” Lapis said calmly, lifting her rifle up to his head.

“S-sixteen…”

“Wanted to join up in chain gang, huh? Be a cool, rough and tumble bad guy?”

“I-I was just… Getting away from the home life… D-didn’t want to be after my father’s ranch my whole life.”

“Yeah, well if you want to get away from the home life, you get into caravanning, or join up in the NCR. Or hey, do what I do. Bounty hunting. You kill tough bad guys and can drink and smoke and fuck all you want, and be a modeled citizen at the same time… And get paid doing it. No huff and puff over who gets the loot. It’s either you, or you and a good posse. Either way,” She said slyly, before nodding to Martyr to go over to him. The scout quickly ripped the old, red bandana off his neck. A different way of signifying a dead gang member, or at least a defeated one for sure. “It’s a hell of a lot better than this shit, kid.”

“Y-yeah, you make a g-good point…”

“I know… Now run on home, and tell pa about your next career choice, eh?” He nodded, immediately sprinting up the hill, tail between his legs. As the young former gang member left, the two bounty hunters did a high five and cheered themselves.

“OH YEAH, BEEN A HOT MINUTE SINCE I TOOK DOWN A RAIDER GANG!”

“OH YOU KNOW IT BROTHER, LET’S GO GET FUCKING PAID!”

Novac was once again safe, thanks to the blood hounds of the Mojave Wasteland, the bounty hunter. Another satisfied customer.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HEYEY did I mention this fanfic gives me the ability to try to come up with new OCs just for the Fallout Universe? How convenient! 
> 
> Comments make my fingers type more, and feedback makes my eyes sharper. They're both vital, and appreciated, as always.

**Author's Note:**

> Alright, now I want a personal opinion: Should the next chapter introduce Peridot, or should I move that later when it's more important?  
> Other than that, I hope you enjoyed reading, I will be updating a bit randomly due to me taking advanced classes in the summer to get ahead in my mathematics, so I'll be only doing this when it's not, like, five pages of homework. Also, I became a day student for anyone who remembers me ranting- I mean, talking about being at a military academy, so that should definitely help. If you're new, yeah, this is just stuff from my other fics, ignore this.  
> This shits for the OG readers, know what I'm saying?  
> For fuck's sake.  
> Alright, comments and feedback are appreciated as always.


End file.
